Rick Perry: Secession

Where have you gone Sam Houston, a state turns its lonely eyes to you.

Yes, it's true. Texas Gov. Rick Perry was proudly pandering to secessionists at the Austin tea bagging event today, saying he thought the Union was okay, but if Washington didn't shape up, you never know what could happen.

Anyone remember that Texas' great hero, Sam Houston, stood up to secessionists at the 1861 convention, even though it cost him the governor's mansion?

And now we have a governor actually pandering to the hate mongers?

To those moderates that may yet to have abandoned Perry's GOP, you need to step up to the plate. This is insane, I don't care if some pollster is telling Perry that he's boxing out his primary opponent with his pandering. This is nuts. Though I guess that's obvious to tea baggers.

12 Comments

Hate MongeringMr. Smith, will you please explain to me how you are any different from a Republican? What I mean by that is this; how is it any different for you to call these protestors unpatriotic and hate mongers, while people such as yourself, went crazy when the Republicans called protestors during the Iraq War unpatriotic and hateful. I realize that you are only a liberal-political hack, in the same manner as Tom DeLay. Can you really tell me the things that he said are any different then what many of the Democrats are now saying about people who dare to criticize President Obama and the Democrats' policies? You, like Tom Delay, only see things as right and wrong, black and white. Right is your version, and wrong is the other side. I thought we were voting to get rid of these types of politics when we voted for “change.”

How am I different from a Republican?I believe that the USA is bigger than a lame-duck political party. I believe that the future is bright. I believe the President who won the election has worthwhile ideas. I believe we need to spend some money on the infrastructure of our nation, and it would behoove us to use that spending to put Americans back to work here in our nation. I don't believe a person's worth is measured solely by a bank account balance or a credit rating.

Excuse me…I don't ever remember anti-war protestors talking of secession from the Union or declaring war on our federal government. I attended many of them and I never had the slightest thought of such acts nor did anyone else around me.

Did we question whether our Chief Executive, leader of the Executive Branch, perhaps was operating outside the bounds of his constitutional power? Absolutely. Did we question whether or not going to war in a nation that posed no threat to our national security was actually in our nations best interest? Sure did.

The only thing wrong here is that we have ELECTED Republicans who are talking openly of secession and pandering to a base of people who are motivated to take up armed rebellion against our nation. We have a news media outlet that is actively promoting secession behavior and polling people as to how they want to take their government back—armed revolution suit your fancy? These actions are unprecedented.

Say what you want about folks who were against George W. Bush and his policies, but one thing we never thought of doing was making a run on gun shops, openly discuss seceding from the Union, and/or armed revolution against our government.

Reply to Mr. HillIf you would look at the secessionist in Vermont, you would see they were/are promoting the exact ideas you are now saying never occurred when liberals were holding rallies. While I cannot speak to the “run on gun shops,” they were actively promoting secession from the Union because of the policies of President Bush. Further, these sorts of solutions are not “unprecedented.” While I will concede that it has not happened in a long while, the history of the United States is chalked full of “rebellious” sentiments. To quote the Declaration of Independence: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” We have a government that no longer holds true to the principles it was founded upon, thus it is the right of the people to form a new government. Our forefathers did it, and so can we. Although, I'm sure that most of the people who frequent this site subscribe to the point of view that our forefathers were nothing but slave owning misogynists who didn't want to pay their taxes. The door is always open for you to leave. I guess you would have sided with the British…

Mr. HillI am not advocating secession. What I take offense to is someone such as you, calling people who dare hold the same feelings as our forefathers in the U.S. and here in Texas, crazy and hate mongers for having the audacity to question whether our government is still looking out for our best interests. Your quote from Governor Richards' is correct, we do need change and it does shake things up. However, simply because someone does not hold the same view on “change” and what needs to be “shaken up,” does not mean they are crazy and hate mongers. It means that they hold different views. I thought that was what made America great? Make no mistake; the U.S. government does not make our country great. I do not bow to a government, and neither should you. What makes the U.S. great, are the people who live here, not the people running it. I thought this was one of the main tenants of liberalism; that the people in power are evil, and the “little guy” was what made America great.

To clarifyMy quote about change is attributed to Governor Richards. Todd Hill's is Mahatma Gandhi. Corporate power that monopolizes wealth for a few is often “evil.” Peoplein power are not necessarily “evil.”

You said:

I thought this was one of the main tenants of liberalism; that the people in power are evil, and the “little guy” was what made America great.

If there's evil, there's money at the root of it, no? And the “little guy” is definitely what makes America great.

Reform or Sedition?We will see where the line is finally drawn. No doubt the Tea Party “movement” contains a fairly wide range of opinions and outlooks. As its talk-show leaders express themselves more specifically on a wider range of issues, it will fragment. I suspect that there is a small element that doesn't believe that advocating the violent overthrowing of Constitutional government should be illegal, but they've been around for quite a while and I assume that Homeland Security continues to track them, as it must. In short, it's hard to reach conclusions on this phenomenom at this point. The loose talk of a few self-promoters shouldn't be taken as representative.